Caleb: Center of the Storm
by Digi-Dolphin
Summary: com. Adam:CFP. Believing the Wonder Chef to be safe on Symphonia, Caleb's archival of Vinheim and Welgaia leads him into a bitter angelic feud that reveals a dark secret that had been kept from him... about his true identity and the origin of his soul.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Caleb's story is companion to Adam: Cast from Paradise, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time.

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Caleb: Center of the Storm

Ch 1

At the time Lloyd Irving Aurion sent Derris-Kharlan away into space with the Eternal Sword's power, no one was entirely sure of whether he actually meant to send the comet flying into deep space. This became clear when his father, who had gone with Derris-Kharlan for personal reasons, came back from it after only a half-year or so of solitude. The comet had slowly been making its way around the sun in a wide orbit that took it away from Symphonia but ensured it would remain somewhat close by for Lloyd's own comfort. Upon the retrieval of Derris-Kharlan for yet more personal reasons that ultimately resulted in the creation of Caleb, the automatic doll built to be the mirror image of Zelos Wilder, Lloyd commanded the comet be set into a new orbit that not only kept it close by for when the need to travel to it arose again, but also ensured that the rate at which it orbited the sun alongside Symphonia kept it from affecting the world too much. This meant that, at certain points in time, both Symphonia and Derris-Kharlan would align and traverse space together in parallel fashion for only a short time, long enough for Lloyd to transport people up to the comet as needed, then bring them back safely within a few days, as the poor boy still thought space would aversely affect his friends and family if they traveled through it for long stretches at a time.

Seeing as how the days of 'close contact' had already passed, Caleb resorted to using a gift from his sister, Tabatha the doll turned Goddess Martel, to reach the orbiting planet. Crafted by Origin to allow him one trip to and from Derris-Kharlan, the Eternal Sword Pin carried Caleb, his mana beast companion Peppermint FireBlossom, and the half-elven Hero of Union, Raine Sage, to the comet of mana. Little did any of them realize that peace did not reign on the ancient planet since the passing of Cruxis and Yggdrasill.

Mithos' castle, Vinheim, remained as gloomy-looking as ever, the dark stone interior and deep indigo tapestries all portrayed the angel's dreams of resurrecting his older sister and creating a world of lifeless beings. Though his original intentions behind the many sinister plots that resulted in Symphonia being torn asunder had been pure, his methods of attaining a world without discrimination was deemed everything else. Since then, the angels that were not destroyed during the battle to stop Yggdrasill's twisted schemes took over the city of Welgaia and the castle in attempts to create their own utopia, isolated from the rest of Symphonia and thus protected from the 'inferior beings' that ruined the World Prolongation Plan.

The brilliant burst of light that marked the entry of Caleb, Pepper and Raine faded as the three of them looked around in awe. This was Caleb and Pepper's first foray into the historic castle, as Raine had been through the manor on numerous occasions in the past.

"It's darker than in Sérno's castle." Caleb remarked and walked forward, head lifting to take in the vast ceilings and the fresco that adorned them, "But far more beautiful! Look at those images of ancient Symphonia! And there's a depiction of the sundering of the world!"

"Really? MARVELOUS!" Raine exclaimed as she ran to join him and craned her head up to examine the fresco herself, "You're right! These images were painted during the time the World Prolongation Plan was first being implemented. There's the Great Seed, Martel, Mithos, even Kratos and Yuan are painted into the castle ceiling! I knew I should have taken time to truly examine this place!" Pepper sighed in irritation and walked up to the scholars, tail swishing about in annoyance.

"Caleb, we hurry and get books, yes? Then go home and visit Martel?" she pointed out. The doll frowned, eyes still recording the images into memory.

"Patience, Pepper. There's a lot here that I have to archive for the future. Professor? How many libraries are in this castle?" he asked, looking aside at the silver-haired half-elf trying to ignore the stiffness of her neck as she squinted up at the fresco. She blinked and lowered her head, rubbing the back of her neck as she thought that over.

"I recall at least six or seven that we ran into while trying to evade the patrolling angels." she murmured and looked around, "The staircases that lead to the upper levels are in the east and west wings of the castle. The libraries are scattered throughout those floors." Pepper's ears stood at alert as she stiffened and looked upward again. Caleb didn't notice as he unrolled the crude map loaned to him by the former Chosen, Zelos.

"That explains the zig-zag lines here. All right. So should we start with libraries accessible from the west wing staircase?" he remarked brightly as Pepper suddenly shrieked.

"Caleb! Flying people!" she cried, fur lifting as a small group of angels descended on the group from the upper walkways. Raine grabbed for her staff and held it forward defensively, already falling into a spell to drive the angels away. The lifeless beings dropped before them and scowled coldly at the group, weapons drawing forth to intimidate them. Caleb immediately leaped forward, spreading his arms to protect the half-elf as he glared back at the lead angel, a tall creature adorned in gray robes and steel armor plates, tall steel headdress and black wings. It waved its own staff at him in contempt.

"You are intruders in our domain. A human, a Desian-class half-elf, and an unknown creature; begone!" it ordered. Pepper uttered a half-growl, half-hiss as she pressed forward, wings spreading in preparation for a battle.

"Professor! Don't attack!" Caleb called back and the woman released the collected mana for _Photon_ harmlessly, looking at him in confusion. "Angels of Derris-Kharlan, we come in peace." the doll declared, staring up at the taller angel, "We wish to archive the information found in the libraries of Vinheim. May we have your permission to do so?" The Swordians maintained their defensive barrier around the three friends as the lead angel narrowed its eyes at him.

"Why should we allow an inferior being entry into our sacred chambers? It is the fault of you humans that our Lord Yggdrasill has not returned to complete World Prolongation!" it returned scathingly. Caleb shook his head angrily.

"I am not a human! I am an automated doll built by Master Altessa to archive the knowledge of the world!" he shot back, "And your lord cannot return to this place! He has passed onto his eternal rest to be with his sister so that the world may be saved from his mistakes." The angel swiped at him with its staff in disdain.

"Get thee from my sight, doll. You are far less worthy to be in this place than a pathetic human." it scorned the doll and signaled to the Swordians. "Take the lot of them and throw them to the Perfect Murder units in the lower levels." it commanded and Pepper snapped at the angels moving in on the group.

"Caleb, we fight now, yes?" she growled. Caleb darted forward and grabbed at the staff in the Guardian's hands, catching it by surprise as it flapped its wings and tried to pull free.

"Unhand me! Release my staff at once, doll!" it demanded. Caleb held on, bracing his legs to keep himself on the floor.

"Call off your troops! I told you we mean no harm to your race, but if you threaten the lives of my friends, I will be forced to fight you myself!" he yelled back. The angel continued flapping harder, dragging the doll very slowly across the floor. "That's not an acceptable answer!" Caleb growled as Pepper breathed out her _Lethal Flora_ ability, burning the Swordians from the inside out. Raine resumed her spells, casting _Photon_ and _Holy Lance_ on the angels that tried to get close to her. "We only want to see your libraries! Even Mithos would want that information protected for the future!"

"Begone!" the angel only snapped back and finally lifted into the air, taking the doll with it. Caleb held onto the staff, looking down at his friends as they tore into the feminine angels that swarmed around them. The Guardian shook the staff, trying to drop him back into the fray. "Disobedient little machine! I should have your mechanisms ripped from your body frame!" it threatened. Caleb held on tighter, hugging the staff as it was shaken violently. Gathering mana from within the dark mana crystal in his body, Caleb began murmuring the incantation for a spell of his own. He winced painfully as the energy from the crystal Shadow had given him flowed more freely through him, fueling the spell. Caleb freed one hand and lifted it to face his palm at the angel.

_"Dark Sphere!"_ the doll yelled, catching the Guardian by surprise again, doubly so when the spell erupted within it and dropped the two of them from the air. Caleb landed easily on his feet, holding the angel's staff in his hand as the Guardian crashed into the floor in shock.

"I-impossible! An automated doll cannot cast magic!" it declared as it climbed to its feet, black wings flapping about and shedding feathers from the collision. Caleb spun the staff in his hands, grinning.

"I was built with an aionis alloy making up more than seventy percent of my body, and three mana crystals powering me. I have all the energy I need to cast spells!" he announced and lowered the staff at the angel, "Now call off the Swordians!"

"Angels, fall back!" the Guardian finally relented and the Swordians that survived the attack fluttered weakly back to its side, watching coldly as Pepper snorted and turned to lick at her rapidly healing wounds. Raine cast a healing spell on herself and breathed a sigh of relief before staring over at Caleb.

"When did he learn to cast magic?" she murmured and brightened, "Fantastic! An automated doll with the ability to cast magic! How did Altessa improve on his creation? Where did he get enough aionis to craft the body frame that allows it? Who taught Caleb the spells? I must know!"

"Crazy lady no take Caleb apart!" Pepper growled at her and Raine squealed happily.

"Ah! That's right! You can talk! Marvelous! Tell me, can you speak naturally as you grow or did you learn our language by listening to Caleb speak?" the half-elf fired her questions at the mana beast, "Can you speak elven as well? How old are you? Are you older than the protozoans and elves? Did you also come from Derris-Kharlan?" Pepper shook her head in exasperation.

"Crazy lady asking many stupid questions. Ask Caleb, Caleb knows. I want eat food soon." she grumbled and sat down, scowling at the angels, "Stupid angels hurt me much with sharp knives."

"I've granted you and your group your lives. Now, return my staff and leave this castle at once!" the Guardian angel demanded. Caleb held the rod securely, planting it down at his side as he shook his head.

"Listen to me and listen well." he hissed, "We are here to obtain the records of ancient Symphonia as collected by Mithos and his companions. We wish no harm to any of you angels, provided we be left in peace to archive that data. All we ask is permission to examine the castle and its records." The angel stood still for a long stretch, then finally ascended into the air.

"I must first consult with our current lord on this situation. The Swordians will remain here to guard you until I return." it told him. Caleb nodded.

"We will await his decision." he agreed and tossed up the staff, "Here. I believe this is yours." The Guardian caught the staff, narrowed its eyes at him, then nodded and flew into the upper rooms. Raine took that opportunity to bombard the doll with her questions, poking and prodding at him as she tried to figure out how he could cast a spell. "Whoa! Professor! It's no big deal! Really!" Caleb exclaimed sheepishly, waving his hands as he tried to sort through the rush of questions, "Altessa built me with aionis alloy and implanted the ability for me to cast magic several months ago. I've been practicing the spells since going on my journey to archive the world but I only know a few basic spells and fewer high level spells."

"What type of healing spells do you know?" Raine asked, intrigued by the idea of an artificial sorcerer. Caleb shrugged.

"Just _First Aid_ and _Healing Wind_. The same ones Zelos and Kratos know." he sighed. The professor looked unimpressed, tapping her fingers on her arm as she folded them over her chest.

"That's it? You can use _Dark Sphere_, a difficult to learn Dark spell, but you can't even use a simple _Heal_?" she muttered and shook her head, "I'll have to teach you additional healing spells, as well as some Light spells to counter _Dark Sphere_." Caleb smiled cheerfully.

"Really? That'd be great! Thanks!" he remarked and looked around, "So, once we get that permission to explore the castle, should we start at the west wing or the east?" Raine laughed.

"You're very confident they'll grant your request, aren't you?" she chuckled. Caleb only grinned at her.

"I just have a feeling they'll listen to me." he replied and looked up as the Guardian returned, flapping its wings as it hovered down before him. "So, what did your leader say?"

"We are the Angels of Vinheim, sworn servants of Lord Yggdrasill." the angel declared, "We have waited for his return but are also in search of information of our own. Lord Tsaneir has made numerous attempts to collect data from the computers in Welgaia, now the lair of the traitorous Angels of Welgaia." It swiped the staff through the air in a show of anger. "They are infidels who no longer deserve to be among us superior beings. Now, Lord Tsaneir may grant you permission to enter the libraries and collect information from the castle only if you perform a service for us." The three friends cocked their heads in collective puzzlement, gazing up at the angel. "If you successfully infiltrate Welgaia, copy the data on Subject A-481, and bring it here, the Lord Tsaneir may deign to allow you to do as you wish."

"May I ask what the information is for?" Caleb asked in curiosity.

"You need not know what it is, doll. Just capture the data and bring it to me." the angel growled and pointed at a teleporter pad behind the group with its staff, "That teleporter will take you to Welgaia. I have released the seal on it that prevents those fallen angels from invading our base of operations."

"I have a question as well, if I may." Raine put in, turning back to the angel, "Why would the angels of Derris-Kharlan split into two factions, when all angels served Mithos and Cruxis in the past?" The dark-winged angel waved the staff in dismissal.

"That is none of your concern. You have your orders; begone!" it declared and flew away with the Swordians.

"Stupid angel make stupid words. Angel no order me around!" Pepper growled as the group walked towards the teleporter. Caleb studied it and shrugged.

"At least they're giving us an opportunity to study the castle, provided we come through on the request first. Raine, any ideas on what might be going on here?" he remarked as they stepped onto the pad. The half-elf held her words until the beam that rose around them finished taking them from Vinheim and deposited them at the holy city of Welgaia. Its clear, wide glass panels allowed them to see out into space, watching tendrils of mana drift by among the brilliant stars beyond. All around them were the soft pastels of the metal and stone that comprised the ancient city, and the same silent deadness surrounded them that had existed for so many thousands of years. Pepper sniffed at the air and snorted contemptuously as the three slowly made their way to the heart of the city.

"Those angels obviously are rooted to their belief that Mithos will one day return to them." Raine finally murmured, "We know this can never happen; Lloyd destroyed the Cruxis Crystal that held Mithos' soul, releasing it from its imprisonment and allowing Mithos to pass on. Whatever data is recorded about this Subject A-481 must have been recorded by Mithos earlier in the World Prolongation as part of the preparation of a worst-case scenario, in the event one should ever occur." Caleb nodded in agreement as they turned down a path towards a set of conveyors.

"I see. So Subject A-481 is a code for a data file set aside by Mithos to be enacted in the event that he should fail to complete World Prolongation?" the doll inquired. Raine shrugged.

"Perhaps. This is purely conjecture, made on the most limited of information we have. Let's find this file and read it ourselves. Maybe then we'll know what the Angels of Vinheim are really up to." she murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Caleb's story is companion to Adam: Cast from Paradise, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time.

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Ch 2

The center of Welgaia was just as empty and desolate as the rest of the city. Tall towers and branching paths of clear material that didn't quite look like glass stood far over the doll, half-elf and mana beast as they walked through the open area. They looked all around themselves as they took in the sights. Pepper flapped her wings vigorously and took to the air, searching around for anything that could be a computer from above. Caleb stopped to watch her, smiling as he recalled the days when his young partner had barely been able to get off the ground.

"So tell me more about your journey. What have you been doing since we last parted more than two years ago?" Raine suddenly asked. Caleb blinked and looked at her, then gazed out at the city almost tiredly.

"A lot. I served Altessa for a few months, then on one of my visits to the Yggdrasill Tree, my sister gave me a soul of my own to compensate for my new sentience." he began, "Zelos was there to witness it; he'd had a sort of falling out with Kratos and Lloyd for some stupid reason and wanted to spend a week at Altessa's home. He changed his mind after Martel told him about some spell on Kratos and took off." He shrugged. "About a couple of months after that, I came across Wren in the forest near the Ozette Ruins. You'd know him better as the Wonder Chef. At the time, I had no idea who he was, and neither did he. Wren had been ambushed by the Dark Chefs and sustained a number of injuries in his attempts to escape, one of which resulted in temporary amnesia."

"Oh, was he the young companion Altessa had mentioned when he asked us for help in locating you that autumn?" Raine remarked in surprise. Caleb looked confused. "Genis and I had received news from Altessa that you and a young companion had disappeared while on a trip to Sybak and had hoped that we would know where you were. We didn't and were unable to commit to searching for you at the time. I'm sorry for not being of aid." she apologized. The doll smiled warmly and shook his head.

"That's all right. But, yes, Wren was my companion at the time. The reason we disappeared was that we had been taken prisoner by the Dark Chefs shortly after leaving Sybak." he explained, "We escaped when we learned of their plan to release an ancient entity that would cause a world-wide famine and traveled to Altamira to collect a crystal that would seal it away again. We were recaptured there and taken back to Flanoir. It was then that Wren regained his memory and I learned who he was. Needless to say, the Dark Chefs' plan failed once the Wonder Chef regained his true self and power." Caleb went on to tell Raine about his other adventures, his meeting with Pepper, the reunion with Wren that seemed to become an almost permanent pairing as Caleb couldn't seem to find a way of making the chef leave on his own journey, and the strange activities happening in both the Dark Chef Alliance and the Wonder Organization that was wearing Wren's sanity dangerously thin. Raine listened and nodded, commenting briefly on some points for clarity. Overhead, Pepper finished her scouting and returned to the group, glowing with the abundance of mana she was absorbing from her surroundings.

"Caleb! Plenty mana here for me to practice! Feels _sooo_ good!" she laughed as she dropped beside the two of them. The doll smiled at her and pet her affectionately as he pulled out a peach for her to snack on.

"Good idea, Pepper! We can both practice our spells here." he agreed. Raine mused a bit longer, then nodded.

"I see. The friction between the two organizations has begun to climax into the fires of revolution. And it is quite unfortunate that the Wonder Chef is caught in the middle, the last sacrifice of the old ways of asserting power." she murmured, "Sad. After all the help he has given us when he managed to do so, his end comes like that." Caleb shook his head fervently.

"I won't allow that to happen! He's my friend, Professor, and I promised him and his father, and everyone that matters, that I would protect him with my very life!" he declared vehemently, "Wren won't be sacrificed in the name of one organization gaining power over the other! The Wonder Organization was supposed to be there to protect the world's health, and to protect the Wonder Chef who holds the key to the world's salvation should it ever have need of it!" Pepper chewed on her peach and nodded in agreement.

"Yummy make plenty good food for all people. People should be happy for that; work to keep Yummy alive and happy so he can make lots good food for many long time." she agreed, "Not good to make Yummy vanish. Yummy vanish, good food vanish, happy people become sad. Sad people end life. Yummy important to keep people happy and alive!" The doll nodded, unaware of the many shadows of winged beings slowly surrounding them from within alleys and sheltered corners.

"That may be the case, and there has been psychological proof that people who are depressed are more likely to take their own lives. Perhaps the world needs saving in many ways, and we only managed one aspect of salvation to come to pass." Raine pondered aloud, "That said, it would definitely be in the best interest of Symphonia to keep the Wonder Chef alive, considering he, like Lloyd, possesses an ability to save the world in a way none of the other Heroes of Union can." She smiled brightly then and Caleb could just see the hearts floating over her head, "And I would love to examine that fork myself! To think it's a piece of ancient magitechnology from seven thousand years ago! And that it has such a powerful spell embedded into it! What causes it to unleash that spell? What does it consider key requirements for a being who wields it to be considered Wonder Chef and thus capable of calling upon that spell? Is it possible that the fact that he is a descendant of such a powerful half-elf allows him to cast it? That may explain the strange mana surrounding him...!" Caleb rubbed his head and looked sheepishly at Pepper, who only glared back at him.

"You tell crazy lady about Eru and Kartha, yes?" she growled. Caleb smiled apologetically. "Caleb, you be stupid again. Now she not shut up for _hours_." the mana beast grumbled. The two of them decided to allow Raine time to ramble on in her Ruin Mode dream as they explored their surroundings a bit more. Pepper flicked an ear and growled. "More flying people, Caleb. All around, watching." she murmured and the doll paused, scanning the city warily. "We attack these ones, too? Or wait for you go talk to flying people?" Caleb pat her side as a warning and stepped forward, studying the tall tower before him. The feeling he'd had since entering Vinheim was back, the strange sensation that the doll had been in the area before.

"We know you're out there!" Caleb finally declared firmly, "Come out and face us! We came only to search your databases for knowledge of the past!" Dozens of white-winged angels flew out from hiding spots all around them. Raine yelped and ducked, covering her head as the beings flapped into position, surrounding the scholar, the doll and the mana beast with spears and bows aimed at the group. Caleb remained calm, standing patiently as the wings that flapped about stirred dead air into a small breeze that finally brought some amount of life to the holy city. The lead angel, dressed in white and green robes with no weapon or armor of its own, descended from the group and hovered before the doll.

"We are the Angels of Welgaia. No one is allowed to enter those records." it told him sternly. It looked at Pepper, then Raine, then returned its gaze to Caleb. "How did you come to this place? The human Lloyd placed a seal on Derris-Kharlan that prevents anyone without his power and consent to enter or leave this planet." it demanded to know. Caleb blinked, then placed a hand over the pin on his jacket.

"I was given permission by Origin and Martel to come to this place. I may not have actually asked for Lloyd's consent to come here, but my quest to archive the knowledge of Symphonia would have been sufficient enough cause to grant me entry." the doll returned and spread his hands out in show of peace, "I am Caleb, an automated doll built to archive the world. My friends and I came in search of historical documents. We wish to view the records in your database for that reason." The angels looked at each other warily. The leader frowned and seemed almost thoughtful.

"Martel allowed you entry? You have communed with the Goddess Martel?" it mused, "That is impossible. The Goddess had not taken a Chosen vessel." Caleb nodded.

"True, but she took a doll for a vessel and became my sister in doing so." he replied and looked pointedly at the spears, "There's no need for that. No one will be attacking anyone." Pepper growled as she glared at the angels.

"That what you say. Me think different." she hissed. Raine hurried to Caleb's side and looked around in concern.

"What are you doing? These angels are the enemy!" she whispered to the doll. The angels caught her words and bristled, catching the group by surprise.

"Enemies?" the lead angel echoed sharply, "Were you sent by the Angels of Vinheim to steal our data?" Caleb folded his arms over his chest and scowled. "Begone from this place! Thieves!"

"Oh, stop that! Shut up! We're not stealing anything!" the doll yelled back and the angels fluttered back in surprise, the leader remaining where it hovered. "We came to archive data and the Angels of Vinheim ambushed us. Since they had possession of the libraries we need to access, we were forced to make a deal with them to get that access." he explained and looked at Raine with a nod. The half-elf looked puzzled but nodded hesitantly as well. "However, I have suspicions on what the Angels of Vinheim are going to do with the data they requested us to acquire." The lead angel tilted its head and narrowed its eyes.

"Suspicions? Based on what?" it inquired. Caleb shrugged.

"A feeling. To be honest, we were going to find the databases on our own, make the copy and examine it to try to understand what they may be up to." he remarked, "I was planning to sabotage the data and give that to them and hope I archived the libraries before they found out." He smiled and cocked his head thoughtfully. "We were also going to make every effort to avoid you, but now that we've confronted each other I believe we can make a new deal."

"I don't think that's wise, Caleb." Raine murmured in concern, shaking her head at him. Pepper straightened and peered at the two beings.

"Me think Caleb better listen to crazy lady this time." she agreed, earning a scowl from the half-elf. The angel waved its hand at the others, signaling them to return to a casual position, weapons put away for the time being.

"What deal would an ally of the Angels of Vinheim propose to us?" it hissed suspiciously. Caleb shook his head.

"We're not allies to the Angels of Vinheim, just in forced servitude for now. I'd like more information about this situation first, before anything is done to compromise Derris-Kharlan and Symphonia." he told the angel and looked towards Raine. "This is your opportunity to learn a few things, Raine. With more data on what is going on, the better a plan we can make to deal with this situation." he added and returned to the angel, "My proposal is this; tell us your side of the story and grant us permission to view the data. I won't copy it unless necessary. In exchange, I will carry out any request you may make of me to the best of my ability."

"Our side of the story?" the angel repeated in confusion. Raine stepped forward, braver now that there was a clear plan before her.

"Yes, we want to know why there are two factions of angels when before they were united by Mithos' cause. What caused this separation?" she asked. The angel seemed to brighten and nodded.

"Ah, that! Very well. Come with us. We will speak of that incident in the residents' quarters. It is not safe alone out here, as the Angels of Vinheim often send raiding troops into the city." it remarked and pointed towards a nearby building, "We will meet there, on the first floor. I have matters to contend with elsewhere for now." Caleb nodded in agreement and watched as it and several other angels flew off. Another fluttered down and bowed slightly.

"I will take you to the residential building for the meeting. Please, follow me." it told them and floated away. The group followed the angel, thinking to themselves. Raine glanced up at Pepper and frowned.

"Caleb, how long has Pepper spoken like a child?" she suddenly asked. The doll looked back at her in confusion as Pepper flicked her ears in annoyance.

"What wrong with way I talk? I talk good for Caleb! Better than mana beast speak; Caleb not understand mana beast speak." she argued with a snort, "Crazy lady not like my talk, crazy lady can stick mana puffs in ears!"

"My name is Raine Sage, not 'crazy lady'." Raine corrected, "And you should learn to speak like a proper intelligent creature. I think we have to work on your language and grammar." Pepper stuck her tongue out as they entered the angelic building. Caleb smiled sheepishly as they waited in the first room they came across.

"Ah, Raine? I don't think she'd like that. She doesn't really know you, and usually she just trusts me and Wren to teach her things." he explained. The half-elf folded her arms over her chest, taking on a stern expression. Caleb seemed to falter at the sight, "Uh oh."

"That is absurd! I'm a teacher! I can be trusted too! Pepper, I'll teach you to speak eloquently so that the world can see how very intelligent you are!" she announced, "We'll start as soon as this mess with the angels is resolved."

"You're gonna need her treat bag then." Caleb sighed, holding out a satchel of fruits, "She'll warm up to you if you feed her." Raine accepted the sack, blinking at the assorted fruits inside. "And I think it would be best if you spent your time with Pepper. I'll deal with the angels on my own." Pepper snorted and sniffed at the bag, a hopeful expression on her face.

"Raine lady have apples and peaches and oranges and yummy goodies for me?" she asked sweetly and looked sly, "Caleb think he have good plan for me. I got good plan, too. You give me lots good treats; _maybe_ I learn things from you."

"You will get a treat when you learn your lessons, Pepper! Not before!" Raine argued back and turned to the doll, "And why would you want to work with these angels by yourself? You don't know anything about them; your only experiences with angels were the ones from Sérno's castle!" Caleb took on a troubled look as the lead angel from earlier finally entered the room.

"Because I feel like I know them. It just feels... it's complicated; I'm sorry I can't explain it more clearly." he murmured and turned to face the other angel, "Ah, good to see you again. Is everything well?"

"Yes. We double-checked our information systems. They are all intact. Now, you wished to know why the angels are divided, correct?" it returned and the group nodded. "Very well. I am called Huron, a former records technician when Mithos ruled Welgaia." the angel began, "When Mithos was killed by the human Lloyd and his allies, the angels began to bicker over what should be done to continue our lives. Some said that Mithos' contingency plan should be activated so that he would return and continue the World Prolongation Plan for the Age of Lifeless Beings; others, like myself, wished to drop the whole plot in favor of living peacefully in this world of mana, away from the creatures that sullied themselves with discrimination." Raine frowned and looked at Caleb meaningfully, but the doll only looked more concerned, brow furrowing in thought. "The angels that wished to resurrect Mithos were the majority of the angelic military, as well as several of the scientists and technicians. We who wished a peaceful existence were the scholars and record keepers, along with the remaining scientists and technicians."

Huron gestured outward in a seemingly random direction, most probably in an effort to encompass either the city or point towards Vinheim somehow. "The arguments eventually deteriorated into violence and the angels split into two factions; the Angels of Vinheim, who took Mithos' home to use in preparation for his return, and the Angels of Welgaia, who live in this city and defend the databases from the angels that would destroy everything in the name of Lord Yggdrasill.

"Some time ago, the human that killed Mithos in the Battle of Vinheim returned here with his family to destroy and scatter yet more Exspheres. The Angels of Vinheim learned of this and sent one of Mithos' mental traps upon the lot of them. The destruction brought upon the city by the warring of the three swordsmen partially crippled our defenses, allowing the Angels of Vinheim to breach Welgaia and steal some of the data we maintained." Huron continued and paused as Raine and Caleb cried in shock.

"Is **that** what happened up here? Origin said that something horrible happened up here that hurt Lloyd, Zelos and Kratos pretty badly!" Caleb exclaimed, throwing his hands out to gesture at the holy city.

"Dear Goddess, the power generated from all three angels set upon each other could have killed them!" Raine blurted out in horror, eyes wide and hand trembling as she pressed it against her heart, "What could have possessed a father and his sons to turn swords and magic on one another?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know the specifics of the War of Angelic Swordsmen, but I do know that the resulting damage cost us a portion of data that allowed the Angels of Vinheim to uncover the specifics of Mithos' contingency plan." Huron told them and sighed, "That is how they learned that it was possible to resurrect Mithos."

"It's still impossible. Mithos' soul is gone. Without the soul, the being cannot be brought back to life. I know this because I tried to resurrect a man whose soul was contained in a Cruxis Crystal held here in Derris-Kharlan. My spell failed to bring him to life because I could not get in touch with his soul." Raine pointed out firmly.

"True, but the Angels of Vinheim aren't going to listen to that kind of logic." Caleb added with a nod and folded his arms over his chest with a thoughtful frown, "We've got to keep them from thinking there's a chance that Subject A-481 will succeed in bringing back their master."

"This confusing. Caleb, what plan do crazy angels have to bring back crazy dead angel?" Pepper griped, "Not good to bring back crazy dead angel. Make whole world crazy, too." The doll sighed and shrugged, sitting on a small bench as he let his mind drift aimlessly. This was indeed confusing. Two factions of angels fighting over a piece of information that could potentially resurrect the most dangerous angel the world had ever known, and Caleb was having feelings of déjà vu every time he looked at something in the city.

It was making his head hurt, and the dark mana crystal still in his body was making him feel ill. He needed a new crystal soon, or his system might start breaking down. Caleb rested his forehead on his knees, groaning softly to himself. This was not good. Whatever it was that was making it painful to use dark mana probably came from an outside source. Altessa didn't build this reaction into him, he wouldn't! But what could be making him sick and giving him strange, half-formed memories of a place he never knew...?

"What _is_ Mithos' contingency plan?" Raine asked as Pepper nuzzled Caleb in worry. Huron folded his arms over his chest.

"Mithos had officially decided that Lloyd presented a valid threat once he learned Kratos and Yuan both had betrayed him to aid Lloyd. To that effect, he created the contingency plan he called the 'Final Chosen'." he explained, "In the event that his own body was destroyed, Mithos selected a third Chosen to take as a vessel to continue his plans. Pronyma took the host he brought and tested for compatibility. Not only did the host body have a high compatibility with Mithos' mana signature, but the native mana within the host held potential for a great deal of magical power. Because of that, Mithos decreed that the Chosen would be kept on Derris-Kharlan and not sent to one of the manufacturing plants for the Angelus Project."

"So what happened to this third Chosen? Mithos' body was believed to have been destroyed in the first battle to rescue Colette, but he tried to take Zelos as a vessel to escape and continue his plan." Raine questioned, puzzled by the angel's words, "We rescued him, but Mithos stole his energy to return to his own, true body, which was held suspended before the Great Seed in Vinheim."

"The Chosen of Mithos escaped Welgaia during that earlier time, when Lloyd retrieved the Chosen of Mana from Mithos during Martel's resurrection, taking the Cruxis Crystal that was attached as well." Huron continued, "None of the angels or the Desians under our control had been able to find the host, despite a worldwide search. The Angels of Vinheim want our information to locate the Chosen and implant the soul of Mithos within the vessel, resurrecting Lord Yggdrasill and the World Prolongation Plan."

"So then that's what's in the file for Subject A-481?" Caleb asked, lifting his head with a strange look, "The location of the third Chosen?" Huron shook his head.

"No, it contains the identity of the third Chosen. The Angels of Vinheim have no idea who the Final Chosen is, and without that knowledge they cannot find the host to enact the plan." he told the doll, "That is why we must keep it safe. We can't allow them to find the Final Chosen."


	3. Chapter 3

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Caleb's story is companion to Adam: Cast from Paradise, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time.

* * *

Ch 3

The next day, Huron led Caleb, Pepper, and Raine to the computers in the east wing of the city. Pepper absorbed mana almost constantly, spewing out plumes of light from her mouth as she walked. She laughed and pranced around the group happily.

"_Mana Light_ much stronger here! I make new magic attack, _Breath of Light_! Sound good, look good, yes?" she asked cheerfully. Caleb grinned up at her as Raine rubbed her head in exasperation.

"She's going to bring down the city if she keeps that up." the half-elf commented, "Pepper, use proper language. '_Mana Light_ **is** much stronger.' 'I **made a** new magic attack.' It will make you easier to understand." Huron stopped before one of the computers and turned to the group.

"This is the main computer that serves as the link for the system. You may use this to search for the data you want. However, to access the file for Subject A-481, you will need Mithos's password." he explained. Caleb frowned as Raine looked back in confusion.

"We don't have that." she remarked, "Why is it password-protected? Wouldn't Mithos have wanted it open for others to read so that the plan could be activated in case his body was destroyed in battle?" Huron spread his hands helplessly.

"Mithos didn't want the identity of the Final Chosen to be known, suspecting that either Kratos or Yuan would discover it and go to warn or rescue the host before the Cruxis Crystal turned the Chosen into a new Fourth Seraphim." he explained, "We believe the password may be found in Mithos's personal effects, located in a treasure box in his throne room in Vinheim." Caleb walked up to the computer and ran his fingertips along the keys, thinking carefully. Raine sighed and shook her head.

"Without it, we can't open the file and find out who the third Chosen is so that we can protect him or her. And if the password is in the hands of the Angels of Vinheim, they can open it before us and Symphonia will be in trouble again." she remarked dully, "What a dilemma."

"Let me retrieve the password." Caleb suddenly said and turned to the startled group, "I'll go back to Vinheim and get the password, then come back and we can unlock the file. Once we have the identity of the Final Chosen, we'll sabotage the file and give that to the Angels of Vinheim." Huron nodded slowly in agreement.

"A good plan. In fact, I now know what it is I wish for you to do for us in exchange for access to this database." the angel told him and tapped a few keys on the computer, bringing up the image of the transporter system connecting Welgaia and Vinheim. "The Angels of Vinheim have placed a magical seal on their end of the teleporter that allows them to enter Welgaia whenever they wish to attack and try to steal the data, but it prevents us from passing through to try to stop them, reason with them." Huron looked back at the doll, a determined expression on his face. "Pass through to get the password and, when you have gained the information you desire from the libraries of Vinheim, destroy the transporter on their end of the system." he told Caleb, "Without it, they can't attack us any longer. We can be safe to exist as we choose here."

"We can't send Caleb into Vinheim alone!" Raine snapped angrily, "Are you insane? The Angels of Vinheim will destroy him on the spot if they discover he's there to sabotage their transporter!" Caleb shook his head at her, frowning.

"No, they won't. I'll sneak into Vinheim and archive the libraries before getting the password. I can use my skills to infiltrate the castle more easily than with all of you, and I can store massive amounts of data at high speeds. I should have everything in a few hours' time. " he told the half-elf, "You stay here with Pepper and read through the database. I'll let you borrow my data crystal reader/writer unit and Pepper can make data crystals for you so you can copy the database into them." He pulled the small piece of magitechnology from his pack and handed it to her. "Please don't pull it apart, but you can examine it as well, if you like. Pepper, stay here and protect Raine. Your magic is much more powerful, attack-wise, than hers." Raine took the device and blinked at it, eyes wide.

"Incredible! Where did you get this?" she cried and cooed at the unit, "Such a wondrous little device! How does it function? What is made of? What is a data crystal?"

"Pepper can tell you about it, if you can teach her to speak well. I retrieved a larger version of this device from Iselia Ranch for Altessa and Dirk to use to read the Moria Gallery crystal. The Renegades took it to deliver it to them and built this portable version for my personal use." Caleb explained and turned to Huron, "I'll do as you say, Sir Huron. I'll get the password and the library information, then destroy the transporter. Is there another way of getting back here without it?" Huron tapped the keys again and a new image appeared on the screen.

"Before the transporter system was set up to connect the city and the castle together, the Four Seraphim used this network of catacombs to travel between the two points. Use that to escape Vinheim and return here." Huron told him, "The entrance is somewhere on the castle grounds, probably hidden in a gate or a set of stones. Also, I don't know if those catacombs are completely safe, so beware of collapsed tunnels and stray monsters roaming them." Caleb studied the image and pressed his hand against a black panel beside the keyboard, closing his eyes as he downloaded the map into his memory.

"Do you know the identity of the Final Chosen, Huron?" Raine asked suddenly, holding the reader/writer in her hands. The angel shook his head.

"When the host was brought into Welgaia, Mithos personally oversaw the compatibility test with Pronyma and her minions. The Cruxis Crystal was attached and the Chosen was trapped in one of the rooms in Vinheim for safekeeping. Mithos personally entered the data on the Chosen and protected it with a password." Huron replied and looked at the computer. "I was told to keep it safe at all costs. I may not know who the Chosen is, but I know that any information that leads to its retrieval is highly valued by the Angels of Vinheim."

"I'm glad I didn't bring Wren, then." Caleb sighed, pulling his hand from the panel. He flexed his fingers and shook his hand. "Not only would he completely lose it up here, but all this crud we're dealing with now... he wouldn't be able to handle it." The doll smiled wanly. "If Wren can't fix something within the time it takes for his meat stew to cool off, he gets really pissy." Raine blinked at him in confusion. "You never want to see Wren in a pissed off mood; that man's lethal when he's ticked." Caleb added with a sheepish laugh.

"I assume it's because of _Incineration_?" Raine asked with a raised eyebrow, "Exactly what is the damage potential for that spell anyway?"

"Goddess, Raine, it's an incinerator! What more do you need to know? It turns everything to ashes and shadow!" the doll exclaimed, throwing up his hands, "Okay, so let's do this thing!"

"Caleb go crazy, too?" Pepper asked in confusion.

"Caleb **is **going crazy." Raine corrected in her Professor mode, one finger in the air, eyes closed and nose lifted in a semi-superior air, "You've got to learn to fully use the modern language!" Caleb checked his supplies and pulled free the oversized spoon, long unused when the doll chose to exercise magical power over physical. He turned to the angel and nodded grimly.

"Okay, I'm ready to go. Where's the entrance to the catacombs from this side? I'll sneak into Vinheim from that and make my way to the throne room and libraries." he told the angel. Huron turned and floated away, wings fluttering as he led Caleb towards the western half of the city. The doll waved back at the half-elf and mana beast, running after the angel. "I'll be back soon, don't worry! Get what you can from the databanks and be good, Pepper! Learn all you can from Raine, she's a good teacher when she's not in Ruin Mode!"

"Don't give it a funny name!" Raine yelled back as Pepper whimpered and howled after him.

* * *

The maw of the Welgaia Catacombs loomed before Caleb once Huron opened the doorway. Hidden in a wall in an alley between two weapons storage facilities an hour's walk from East Welgaia, the door was sealed long ago when the transporter system took its place. The angel murmured a few words before it and a slab of the wall slid aside, revealing a darkened hall that stretched into inky black swirls. Caleb peered into it and swallowed.

"So, that would be the Welgaia Catacombs, huh?" he murmured and stepped inside cautiously, "Do the Angels of Vinheim know about this place?"

"A few. But you should be able to get through. As a doll, your strength, agility, power and speed should be equal to ours. A pity you don't have our wings and magic." Huron told him. Caleb grinned back at him.

"I have magic, but I don't have wings. Maybe if you had mechanical ones that could be attached to me, then I'd be an angelic doll!" he joked and shook his head, laughing, "But I don't think I'd make a good angel."

"Perhaps not. However, we do have components for automated dolls in our storage facilities. If anything goes wrong, return and we will repair you with our supplies." Huron agreed. Caleb brightened and nodded.

"Thank you very much, Sir Huron! I'll do my best and destroy the transporter. The Angels of Vinheim won't get the Final Chosen!" he declared and raced down the hall.

* * *

The catacombs were dimly lit by the light of mana swirling in containers that lined the stone walls. Iridescent shimmers cascaded over the walls and floor as Caleb zipped down halls and around corners, following the map in his mind and making adjustments as he discovered which corridors were blocked by cave-ins. Monsters were a bit of a problem, but nothing Caleb couldn't handle with the spoon and, when one particularly tough enemy snapped it in half, a good dose of magic. Fireballs and blades of wind cut through most of the Dark-based creatures, their strength further boosted by the mana surrounding the doll from the comet.

Racing down the archaic halls, Caleb's uneasy sense of déjà vu continued to grow. He'd been here before, walked these same halls before, but how could that be when he'd never set foot in Welgaia until now? The redhead stopped at one junction and looked around, confused. His mental map told him to take a left turn, but something in him was urging him to go right. He stood there, torn, before sighing and turning towards the path on the right. Caleb followed it for a short time, then paused in surprise as it led to a shimmering violet gate.

"What's this?" he murmured to himself and reached out to traced his fingers over angelic characters carved into the rock beside it, "_'Mithos's secret entrance. Keep out.'_" Caleb jerked his hand away in horror. "H-how did I find this just listening to a hunch?" he cried and looked worried, gazing at the portal before him, "What's happening to me? Are these half-formed memories and strange intuitions fragments from the soul I possess?" He held both hands together over his 'heart', gazing down in a mix of confusion and fear. "Whose soul is inside me?" Caleb shook his head after a moment and put his hands into fists at his side, glaring at the portal swirling before him, "Gah! It doesn't matter right now! I've got to get the information from this place to stop Mithos's resurrection and go home! I have to continue my journey and keep Wren safe from the Wonder Organization!" With that, he leaped into the portal, vanishing into the violet haze of mana and magic.

* * *

The castle grounds on the other side were almost desolate, dead earth supporting plants that had long wilted away. Vinheim towered high above Caleb as he crept from the circle of stones that was the catacombs' exit. Angels patrolled the area and the doll kept close to the ground as he dashed from bush to boulder, making his way to the castle itself.

Though the main doors of Vinheim were guarded, the windows lining the castle were not, and Caleb peered through several before finding a room that was empty of angels. Using his tool satchel, the doll cut through the glass and unlatched the window, climbing inside quietly. He grinned at the myriad of tools in his pack.

"These things come in so handy. I should thank Master Altessa for these the next time I see him." he murmured and headed for the door. Peeking out, Caleb could see a few angelic guards wandering the halls and stairwells. He watched for a moment to record their movements, then slipped through, moving during the precious few seconds they had their attentions diverted. The first library was somewhere up ahead and the doll ran through the open door, coming to a screeching halt before a Swordian that hovered in the center of the room.

"An intruder! Begone!" it declared and slashed at him with its swords.

"Whoa!" Caleb yelped as the blades cut into the front of his jacket, narrowly missing the Eternal Pin attached to the fabric. Synthetic skin split open under the edge of the swords, exposing dull silver-gray metal to the crystalline light of the library. The doll leaped back, hand coming over the exposure in surprise. "I didn't know they put guards in the libraries!" he exclaimed and jumped aside as the Swordian rushed him again. He summoned up a circle of mana beneath him, calling up the energy of the mana crystal in his body. Wincing slightly as the mana burned through his system, Caleb threw his palm forward. _"Absolute!"_

"Now die!" the Swordian returned, casting a spell of its own. Both spells hit, cutting into the angel and the scholar. The _Ice Tornado_ the Swordian cast lifted Caleb into the air and hurled him against a bookshelf, bringing the bulk of its tomes onto him in a heap. Caleb's own spell sealed the angel in a tomb of ice before shattering in an explosion that pierced its armor with shards, wounding it severely. The doll struggled to get free of the heavy books that fell on him, then yelled as the Swordian flew at him once more, spearing its sword cleanly through him.

"The books!" Caleb cried, looking over his shoulder at the blade that thrust into the spine of one thick tome. He glared back at the angel that looked momentarily baffled at a humanoid intruder that did not bleed. "You're going to pay for the damage to that piece of history!" he growled and put his hands between himself and the Swordian, _"Freeze Lancer!"_ Missiles of ice formed and shot forward, puncturing through armor and flesh more lethally than the previous spell. At close quarters, the damage from the ice spell was greater and the angel toppled away from Caleb, vanishing in an explosion of feathers to leave behind its Cruxis Crystal and the empty armor. Caleb pulled the sword free and winced, probing the wound carefully to see what damage had been done to himself. A section of the mana fueling system had been severed, and the doll waited a moment as he mentally searched for an alternate path for the flow to take. Once that was done, he turned and examined the book that had taken part of the blow.

"No respect for knowledge. No respect at all." Caleb grumbled, carefully opening the book and reading through it, hoping to save at least part of the information within it before the binding came apart completely. He sped through it, then set it aside for the rest of the library's collection. In all there were several hundred books, a drop of information compared to the collections in Sybak but still very valuable materials. Caleb slid a few of the books into his pack, including the damaged one. "Maybe I can find someone who can repair this book. Then I can give the set to Raine and ask her to help me preserve them. She'll like that." he remarked with a smile and turned to the remains of the angel.

The Cruxis Crystal glimmered on the floor and Caleb picked it up for examination, a strange expression on his face. He knew all about Cruxis Crystals, it was knowledge that Altessa programmed into him since before he even had a soul. Now that he could feel and think like a living being, Caleb could understand his knowledge better. This stone was lifeless, like he had been, but its nature destroyed life and humanity. Yet, the benefits from it were many. An angel could live forever if it chose, and was blessed with greater strength and power than any mortal human.

"If I attach this to Wren and he becomes an angel, then he'll live forever too." Caleb mused softly and a sad look came onto his face, "Wren is a human, and one day he'll die. I'll lose my best friend to time. But if I can convince him to equip this and become an angel, then time will never flow for him. I can keep my best friend forever." He stood there, studying the crystal in his hand as tears began to run down his face.

"But that would make me no better than Mithos!" Caleb finally hissed furiously, hand closing around the stone tightly. He shook his head fiercely. "I can't do that to him! No matter how much I want Wren to live forever, I can't inflict the cruelty of eternal lifelessness on him just for my personal reasons!" He tightened his fist until the crystal shattered from the pressure. "Wren has the right to live his life as he chooses, and thus have the right to eventually pass on as all humans must. If I try to control him by turning him into an angel to live forever, then I'm no better than the Wonder Organization that wants to control him by causing his death." He opened his hand and let the dust fall from his palm, watching the sparkling bits with a grim face. "I will not make him a victim. I am his protector; I vowed to protect him as Wren, as Adam, and as the Wonder Chef. I will be his friend, not his master."

* * *

The Angels of Vinheim seemed oblivious to Caleb's moving from one library to the next, destroying the guards in each room to archive the information, then crushing the Cruxis Crystals that remained after the angel vanished. With each battle of angel and doll, Caleb steadily acquired more damage to his body frame, though none yet more serious than the severed mana fueling system. He unrolled his map of Vinheim and studied it carefully. He'd managed to archive the libraries on the west side of Vinheim, which meant he needed to cross to the east wing to finish before he could sneak into Mithos's throne room and get the password to the file in Welgaia.

"They never make this easy, do they?" Caleb sighed in exasperation as he peeked out from the doorway on the uppermost level of the building. Angels fluttered all along the walkway that circled the central pillars. Raising an eyebrow in interest, the doll crept forward and looked over the banister at the tall columns. They were connected by a strange platform that held an open black chest and oddly colored bridges and blocks. Mentally gauging the distances between the banister, the platform, and the banister at the other end of the castle, Caleb smiled and prepared to jump. Maybe it was easier than he first anticipated?

He leaped over the handrail and landed safely on the platform below, then ran across it to jump to onto the next banister. A well-powered jump and Caleb landed neatly on the walkway. He grinned, looking back at the series of stepping stones he just crossed. Being a doll had its good points, after all.

The east side of Vinheim had its share of angel patrolmen as well, and the doll spent another few minutes studying their movements, resuming his infiltration soon after he learned the patterns of their patrols. Once again, each of the libraries on the eastern half of Vinheim was guarded by Swordians.

"Goddess, how many of you are there?" Caleb declared in irritation, agilely avoiding the blades that came at him as the Swordian stabbed repeatedly after him. He analyzed the angel's fighting, ran through a list of the Heroes of Union's fighting styles and selected one. "Heeyaah! How would you like a taste of Duke Bryant's _Triple Kick_?" the doll shouted, pulling his hands close to his body and lashing out in a perfect imitation of Regal's Trubel style attack. The angel flailed, collapsing and crying once at the impact of a well-aimed _Eagle Dive_ maneuver that slammed into it. The Swordian vanished in a burst of feathers and Caleb carefully crushed the remaining Cruxis Crystal before resuming his archival. In between reading the books as fast as he could, recording the words and images into his memory, Caleb would examine and repair any small damages he could. There was little he could do about the damage to his clothing without sewing equipment and fabric, however, and the doll quietly fumed over the increasing number of cuts, tears and burns that decorated the dark green and seafoam-colored suit he so loved.

"I don't see how I'm going to get through this with my clothes in one piece." Caleb muttered angrily, patching what he could of an open gash in his leg. A shimmer of mana ran down the circuitry and jumped in a spark as he touched tools to the synthetic fibers for repairs. He jerked his hands back and exhaled lightly. "That was close. I don't want to short out my leg. Man, I'm glad there are spare components in Welgaia. Maybe they also have some extra fabric I can use to repair my clothes." He finally sighed and put the tools away, getting up to test the strength of his leg before moving to the next library.

There were no stairs to the bottom floor after Caleb finished scouring the east wing for the last of Vinheim's libraries, so the doll jumped down from the second level. He froze, listening for signs that he'd been heard, then darted for the main hall. Caleb expected opposition in the form of angelic guards watching over the doorways to Mithos's throne room, and that was exactly what he got. He squeaked and dove for the shadows of a nearby staircase, crouching to avoid detection as the guards floated by on their routine patrol.

"Getting harder now, huh?" he whispered to himself and risked a peek over the wall behind him at the huge double doors. They were open and the patrolling angels floated back and forth before the gate. The room beyond was hidden in the swirl of violet and black, mana shifting around to hide whatever was originally behind the doors. He waited, timing the paths of the guards, then scrambled over the wall and rolled through the doorway. Caleb came to a halt in the throne room and spun around, half expecting a small army of angels to come tearing after him for infiltrating the castle. But there was no one and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning around, the doll yelped in shock and stared out at the vast open space within the castle that seemed as if he'd been transported into the heart of Derris-Kharlan. Mana rushed by him, flowing past a floating island in the distance towards what looked like a hole in the center of the comet. All around that island, giant chunks of what appeared to be the same material as the floor he stood on spun around, caught in some invisible vortex. Stunned into silence at the sight before him, Caleb walked forward to the edge of the floor, stepping onto a round symbol on the tile that glowed brightly. He blinked and looked down in surprise as the circle shimmered.

"Hey, what the-?" he cried just before he was transported.

The teleporter dropped him off on the island in the center of the mana storm and Caleb looked over his shoulder at the distant doorway, then turned back to face the single throne that stood before a section of wall with tall statues of Martel on either side of it. He walked towards it slowly, numb to the wind that rushed around him and pulled at his clothes, his hair. Stopping just before the stone seat, Caleb gazed down at it, a faintly terrified look on his face.

"I... _remember_ this place..." he whispered, "I've been here before... But **how**...?"


	4. Chapter 4

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Caleb's story is companion to Adam: Cast from Paradise, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time.

* * *

Ch 4

"It be two days since Caleb leave for Vinheim. Are catacombs **that** big?" Pepper griped, pawing at her treats for the day. Raine put down the piece of chalk in her hand and turned from the wall of a nearby building that she used as a blackboard. The half-elf had made a great deal of progress in helping the mana beast speak well, especially when she handed out apples for treats, but there was still more to teach.

"Derris-Kharlan is planet-sized, so it's very possible that it could take that long for him to reach the castle." the half-elf replied gently, "Don't worry; I'm sure he's fine. With the strength and power of an angel and a human's intellect and emotion, Caleb should be able to handle whatever comes. Don't forget your lessons, Pepper. You're slipping." Pepper sighed and toyed with her fruit.

"Sorry. I still worry, though. Caleb is my guardian and my friend. I do not like thinking he might be hurt." she mumbled and speared a claw into one of her apples, holding it up for study. "I miss Wonder Chef's cooking. He made lots good things to eat." she added and popped the fruit into her mouth for chewing.

"I could try cooking something for you. How does a spicy cake sound?" Raine remarked cheerfully. Pepper's fur flared as her wings opened in a panic.

"No, no! Crazy lady cooking almost kill me!" she barked, falling back on her old speech, "Worse than Wonder Chef's fire goulash in Temple of Fire!" Raine frowned and folded her arms over her chest indignantly.

"It wasn't that bad. You're just not used to my unique way of cooking." she grumbled. Pepper shook her head and sat back down.

"Noo... I just have great distaste for Suicide Soup." she returned and looked over at the computers, "I think data crystal is full. Projector is flashing." Raine hurried over and checked the device, then halted the download and pulled the crystal free. Pepper closed her eyes and lifted her head, making a trilling sound before bowing her head down and dropping a new data crystal from her mouth onto the ground. She tilted her head at the clear blue stone and nodded. "I have made a new one. It is easier to make data crystals here. Maybe I can make a really strong mana crystal for Caleb to use!" she reported and brightened at the thought, "The strongest ones he has so far have six sides to them, so maybe I can make one with eight sides and then he can use even **more** magic!"

"Maybe." Raine agreed as she collected the new crystal and plugged it into the device, restarting the transfer of data, "Are you ready for your next lesson?" Pepper nodded, then voiced her readiness. "All right. Next, synonyms and antonyms..."

* * *

Caleb sat silently on the throne, head bowed as he thought through his situation once more. There was the feeling of déjà vu he'd continuously been experiencing ever since stepping foot in Vinheim, and now this strange connection with the floating throne room. The feeling of having stood in this place once before was powerful and unsettling. He scanned through the stories he'd heard of the battle that took place on this very spot, the evidence of which remained on the island, stains of faded blood, gouged rubble, burns, broken weapons and armors and shields, torn mana feathers of various colors. Caleb counted and named each item that belonged to each Hero of Union, then gazed distantly away as he pondered the history.

On this battlefield, the main players had been the eight Heroes of Union and Mithos Yggdrasill, who had finally gone completely insane after his sister chose death over life to keep the Great Seed alive. The doll frowned slightly, thinking carefully. Each of the Heroes had returned from the battle, so the soul in his possession, with memories of having been here, could not be from one of them. That left Mithos, but he was an impossibility. Mithos' soul had been taken into the Cruxis Crystal, freed, entered Lloyd's Exsphere to evolve it into a Cruxis Crystal, then left it for the Great Seed to help it germinate. After that, it disappeared, right?

"I don't get this. I feel like I've been here, but I haven't. And no one's told me about this place, or shown it to me or anything. So what's my deal?" he muttered and frowned again, "I shouldn't even be sitting here, just wasting time. I have to find that treasure box!" He looked around himself, straightening up in the throne, "Now, if I were Mithos, where would I hide a box of valuables?"

That strange feeling was gnawing at him again. Caleb got up from the throne and slowly turned to look down at it. He could feel a familiar tug that urged him towards a specific action and he obeyed it, reaching down under the throne. His eyes went wide and he gasped softly as he pulled a small, wooden chest from underneath the stone seat.

"This... this can't be happening... How could I have...?" he murmured in growing hysteria, then shut his eyes and shook his head, berating himself for letting hunches rule his actions rather than sound logic, "It's an _obvious_ hiding spot, and Mithos _was_ a child, after all. I shouldn't be reading too much into this. I was following an analysis of child psychology, and that of a highly disturbed child." He opened the box and was rewarded not only with a small tattered book, but also a collection of rings all shimmering brightly in the light of the mana around him. He brightened immediately, former panic forgotten. "Ah! This must be the collection of Rings of Pact that Mithos had! But the gems are dark... maybe their power left because Mithos lost the blessings of the Summon Spirits?" Caleb picked out one of the rings and studied it, a sudden thought making a smile grow on his face. "Hey, these gems correspond to the ten Summon Spirits... I can use the stones on Pepper's bell! Orator and Martel said long ago that I should find the gems that match the Summon Spirits and bring them to the mana beast clans. With them, Pepper will be able to manipulate the mana of other elements besides the ones she was born to use." He brightened, "She'll even learn to wield Dark and Ice mana! This is great! She'll gain immunity to those elements!"

He slid the box of treasures into his pack and ran back to the transporter, stopping only to pick up a few colorful mana feathers for later study. Elated by his discoveries, Caleb didn't think twice about running straight through the open door. The shouts of alarm from the patrolling angels he nearly ran into snapped him out of his bubble of joy fairly quickly, though.

"An intruder! There's an intruder in the castle! Get him!" the angels shrieked and raced after Caleb, spears and swords and arrows all aimed at the doll. The redhead yelped and ran for the teleporter up ahead, narrowly remembering his promise to Huron. He halted and spun around, calling up the mana within his body for a spell.

"Back off! _Bloody Lance!_" he yelled, skewering a few angels with the dark red swords and scattering the rest in a panic.

"The spells of Pronyma! The intruder knows dark magic!" they raged, the air filling quickly with the black feathers of dozens of angelic soldiers. Caleb ducked a flurry of arrows and cast the spell again, this time aiming it for the device behind him. "The transporter! The intruder destroyed the transporter!"

"What is the meaning of this?" a loud voice bellowed from above. The doll covered his head as the teleporter exploded into several pieces of broken and twisted metal and magitechnology. He looked up at a tall angel dressed in full armor and bearing two sets of black wings staring belligerently back at him. "You are the automated doll we sent into Welgaia to bring us the data! What is the meaning of this treachery? You will be punished for this!" the silver-haired angel fumed and lifted a device from its belt, pressing several keys on it.

"I'm guessing you're Lord Tsaneir of the Angels of Vinheim." Caleb returned coolly, placing his hands akimbo and tilting his head almost arrogantly, "Anyway, I never agreed to the revival of an insane angel, so technically I'm not betraying you." Tsaneir scowled and flew down from the catwalk high above the main floor. Caleb leaped back as the angel drew its sword and leveled it at him.

"You've sealed your fate either way, Doll." it growled, "The penalty for defying the will of the Angels of Vinheim is death!"

"My name is Caleb, thanks. And I can't die, so your threats are meaningless to me. I have all the power of you angels as well as the lightning fast brain of a machine and the soul of a living being." Caleb remarked smoothly and smiled, tapping himself on the chest, "So in reality, _I'm_ the superior being, and the lot of you are feathered insects to me."

"Then we shall pit machine against machine and see if your precious soul is as useful as your magic and brain!" Tsaneir declared, flying up and out of the way to allow a squadron of Perfect Murder robots to stomp into the fray, their massive bodies containing enough explosive missiles, lasers and ammunition to launch a small siege on any city in the current world. Caleb blinked and tightened his fists, glaring at the group.

"Normally, I'd love to demonstrate my prowess, but I have other matters to attend to... such as the destruction of the file containing the identity of the Final Chosen!" he declared and leaped for a window, barely avoiding an assault of gunfire that ripped after him.

"After him! Stop him before he finds a way back to Welgaia and destroys the data!" Tsaneir shrieked, leading the Perfect Murders out onto the castle grounds. Several more robots joined the chase, fast floating Murders that carried a small payload of homing missiles and weak but accurate Raybits that fired bursts of electricity constantly as they zipped after the doll.

Caleb dashed for the circle of stones, hoping the gate into the Welgaia Catacombs was still open. He brightened at the sight of the violet swirl appearing in the center of the monoliths and ran faster, evading the incoming barrage of missiles and laser fire as best he could and yelping when one hit his shoulder and nearly knocked him down. The attack burned away the cloth and sent a searing pain through him that caught him by surprise. Light and Electricity, that was the mana contained in that shot.

**Now**, he was scared.

Leaping into the portal, Caleb paused briefly at the end of the short hall to look back and see if he'd been followed. For a few heart-pounding seconds there were no signs of the mechanical army, then the barrels of the Perfect Murders' silvery gun-arms began passing through the portal, followed by the rest of the robot monstrosities. Groaning softly, Caleb turned and ran on, thankful that he couldn't feel exhaustion from physical exertions like this. Raybits zoomed past him, startling the doll as they wove around themselves and came flying back, firing bolts of electricity in rapid succession. Caleb ducked the first onslaught, then leaped up and kicked at one of the machines, sending it crashing into another as he slipped by and continued his escape.

Where he couldn't go because of cave-ins, Perfect Murders smashed through with battering rams and missiles, circling around to cut off the doll before he could reach the exit. Caleb skid to a halt before one of them, immediately falling into a spell as a swarm of missiles came at him.

_"Lightning!"_ he cried, sending the bolt slamming into the Perfect Murder before being thrown aside by the multiple explosions of the small red missiles that collided into him. He coughed and scrambled to his feet, renewing the spell as the robot flailed from the shock. "Come on! Fall apart already!" Caleb yelled, hurling another bolt after the machine. He glanced over his shoulder and hissed as Tsaneir rode on the shoulder of another Perfect Murder, a triumphant sneer on the angel's face as it pressed keys on the remote in its hand.

"You're going to learn what death is like, Caleb. You won't like it. I can guarantee it." the angel jeered, "And once I've killed you, I'll have my troops rebuild your body, so I can kill you again. And again and again and again! For all eternity! You shall be my personal toy!"

"You need counseling, man. That's just sick." Caleb muttered under his breath and narrowed his eyes at the angel, scanning the figure and analyzing the numbers, "Hey, wait... you're a woman? But why did the angels call you a lord?"

"Because I am a powerful general of Lord Yggdrasill's angelic army, you oversized plaything of the inferior beings!" Tsaneir snapped and curled a lip in a cruel smile, "So you know that I am a female now. Perhaps during our lessons in teaching you to fear destruction, we'll learn how much of you is modeled after that treacherous Chosen." Caleb blinked, then looked disgusted, backing away from the angel.

"Correction; _that's_ sick!" he growled and suddenly yelled as the Perfect Murder ahead of him got over the second shock and fired a blast of laser fire at him. He lashed back with another bolt of lightning and cried as something pierced into him from behind. Tsaneir scowled at the Perfect Murder she rode on.

"What are you doing, you witless tin can? That's the testing probe, not a missile! Fire the proper weapon!" she snapped as the device in her hand beeped almost frantically, "I will rip apart whoever was mindless enough to arm this thing with testing probes!" She turned her attention to the device in her hand and frowned. "Mana signature reading complete? Base signature hidden by surrounding crystals... base signature is..." Tsaneir's mouth fell open in shock. "Th-that's impossible! The soul is...!" she gaped and looked up at the doll firing several more spells at the machine blocking her path. The shock turned to a victorious smile. "I knew it! And those heretics claimed he was gone from this plane... bah! Our Lord has returned!"

"Geez, this is taking forever!" Caleb panted, clothes tattering as he summoned the mana for another spell, "I didn't want to be forced to use this, but it looks as if I'll have to test it on you!" He straightened and closed his eyes, holding his hands out to his sides as black and frost blue mana swirled before his palms. A huge circle formed at his feet, shimmering as the mana lifted the remnants of his coattails and his loosened hair on the flow of energy. _"I call upon the emptiness within your hearts to nullify the light of your lives!"_ Caleb declared and opened his eyes, bringing his hands forward suddenly, _"Forsaken!"_ A tight sphere of mana formed in front of the Perfect Murder, a ball of black and frost blue that seemed to pull everything towards it. Mana flew from the machines around Caleb towards the sphere and Tsaneir clutched at her heart, gasping as she felt her own mana draining away. Eyes wide in awe and horror, she slid from the machine she rode upon and collapsed to the floor. Caleb held the spell until the Perfect Murder crumbled and fell in a lifeless heap, then pulled his arms open suddenly. The artificial void dissipated and Caleb slowly exhaled, glaring at the motionless machine before him.

"Don't ever make me use that again." he hissed, turning a cold gaze back at Tsaneir, "That spell was created for a specific reason, and I'm not supposed to use it on things like you."

"M-my l-lord... you need... a new host..." Tsaneir gasped out brokenly, "This doll... is not... worthy... of you... Not even... with... that spell..." Caleb's expression became puzzled.

"What are you talking about? I'm not your lord or anything." the redhead told her and shook his head, "You need to talk to a therapist or something. You're definitely psycho." With that, he darted off, leaping over the fallen machine and disappearing down the hall. Tsaneir struggled to get up as fresh units pounded into the corridor, along with several angels that went to her aid. She looked at the device in her hand.

"As long as he is in that doll's body, Lord Yggdrasill will not regain his full memory." she growled, mana beginning to return to her and recover her strength, "We must find the Final Chosen and transfer his consciousness. Only then will our Lord return to continue the plan for our Age of Lifeless Beings!"

* * *

Caleb passed through the final door and panted, bending on one knee to rest and recharge as the gate closed itself off to him. His clothes were a mess, he'd lost his ribbon again, he probably drained his free use crystal dry casting _Forsaken_, and those angels now knew of the catacombs connecting Welgaia and Vinheim. It would only be a matter of time before Tsaneir recovered fully and assembled a force to invade the city and steal the data she wanted.

"Freaking psycho angels. And that Tsaneir... _brrr! _I really should get a new face or something." he muttered and stood on unsteady legs. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, patting his worn satchel. "But at least I got what I went there for, and all of Mithos' old rings too! Pepper is going to be so excited!" He checked his internal clock and winced. "Ouch, three days passed since I first left here. I hope the girls aren't too mad."

They weren't angry, just very surprised to see the condition Caleb was in after he finally arrived at the information network in East Welgaia. Huron stood by impassively as the three friends reunited and chattered over the state the doll was in, searching for injuries and asking about the password he'd been sent to retrieve. Caleb waved his hands sheepishly, laughing nervously as Pepper and Raine sent a barrage of questions after him.

"You took too long! Next time, run faster!" Pepper barked at him, "Raine tried to cook something for me to eat and I thought I was gonna up and die!" Caleb blinked at her and brightened.

"Pepper! You can speak our language fluently now! Wow! That's amazing! Raine, thank you so much for helping Pepper learn all that!" he exclaimed. The mana beast sat back and humphed.

"It wasn't just Raine teaching me to speak fluently. This place also had an effect." the mana beast remarked, "With so much mana around me, my mind was able to mature sooner. You can think of me as having grown from being a six-year-old child to a sixteen-year-old teenager in less than a week."

"That's faster than your growth back on Symphonia." Caleb muttered, eyes still blinking in surprise.

"It's to be expected. Symphonia's mana level as a whole is still very weak. It'll take centuries before it can fully support the ecosystem, even with the Mana Tree and the mana beast clans working full tilt." Pepper pointed out and clacked, tail swishing behind her. "So did you find that thing you were looking for?" she asked, returning to a childish excitement for the moment.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I think." Caleb stammered and pulled out the box from his pack, "I found Mithos' box of treasures, but I haven't checked it all yet. All of his Rings of Pact are in here, though, so we can take those apart and set the gems into your bell, Pepper."

"Oh, you remembered what Martel and Orator said about me using all the mana in the world to support you!" the mana beast exclaimed happily and pranced around him, "Let's take them back to the meadow when we go home and get the blessings! I'll be able to pull mana from all the elements and send them to you once I have the blessings!" Caleb brought out the old book and gave it to Raine.

"I found this in here too. Maybe the password is written in there?" he suggested and set his pack down, "Also, I managed to rescue some of the books from the libraries, including one that was damaged by a Swordian." Raine was no longer listening, busy with her examination of the little book. Pepper sniffed at the bag and turned her interest to the box of rings, studying them intently. The doll smiled weakly and walked to the angel that stood nearby.

"Have you done as I requested?" Huron asked once Caleb stood before him. The redhead nodded.

"I destroyed the transporter, but Tsaneir followed me into the catacombs. I managed to lose her in there, but it won't be long before she makes her way through them and attacks this place. I'm sorry." the doll sighed, "She can still get to Welgaia, but it will take her two days at least to reach this place."

"That's all right. With that much time separating us, we'll be able to put up defenses that will bar her entry." Huron returned and studied him, "You've been heavily damaged, though. We can repair you if you like, perhaps even upgrade your systems. The mana beast spent an entire day developing a new mana crystal for you." Caleb blinked; this day was full of surprises.

"What kind of mana crystal?" he asked as he followed the angel to another building. Inside, a team of angelic scientists stood at various computers, scanning through data at speeds far greater than a human but still slower than a machine's. A table stood in the center of the room, a tray of tools, components and a shimmering crystal set beside it. Huron picked it up and showed it to him.

"Octagonal. This crystal has eight sides and far greater power than the six-sided crystals you use as your main source of mana. If a hexagonal crystal can run your systems for five years before needing to be changed, then an octagonal crystal will power you for twelve." the angel told him. Caleb stared at the gem in shock. "We are already prepared for installation, but we would rather wait to see if you wanted it." The doll remained silent for a moment, then looked up at the angel.

"I have something I wanted to ask, and it might be forward of me, but please at least hear my request." he began, "I've seen my friends, the Heroes of Union, undergo a certain change when they attain an amount of damage and stress that is tuned to each person. Lloyd called it an Over Limit. I've also seen that this state temporarily increases their power and defensive abilities. I've just come out of a battle for my own life that exhausted my free use mana crystal, and I see that the damage I inflicted on my enemies remained the same no matter how much damage I took." Caleb looked down at himself and frowned, "I can't go into an Over Limit. I was never programmed for that. I'd like to be able to achieve that kind of power so I won't be forced to use potent spells that could do more harm than good in battle."

The angels stopped and turned to listen to the doll, pensive expressions on their faces. Caleb swallowed and went on.

"Also, the fabric I'm wearing tears easily. My clothes are my armor and they are vulnerable to the elements. I'm barely clothed now because of all the fighting, so I'm hoping you might have a fabric or armor that I can use. Something that I can shape to resemble my suit and my favorite colors and won't be so easily destroyed." he added and rubbed his head, "I know it sounds like a lot I'm asking for, and it probably is, but if it's possible that you can help me with this, I'd be grateful." He smiled sheepishly. "That's basically it. The ability to have an Over Limit of my own, an upgrade to use the octagonal mana crystal, and a fabric that can replace my clothes for more durable wear; can you help me with any of that?"

"Actually, we can." Huron remarked and looked at his team of angels, "All that you have asked for is within our abilities to create using our magitechnology. The upgrades will take a day and a night, and we can have the fabric made to replace your old clothes in that same time. Is this agreeable?" Caleb brightened and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! Thank you very much, Sir Huron! I'll do anything else you ask of me for this great gift!" he exclaimed and climbed onto the table as the angels surrounded him, tools in hand and ready to begin. "Once I learn the identity of the Final Chosen, I'll be sure to destroy that file and locate the Chosen myself to have the Crystal removed and the host hidden away in a safe place. I just wonder how it is the Angels of Vinheim think they can get to Symphonia when Derris-Kharlan is sealed with that magic wall Lloyd erected?" He closed his eyes and went silent as he began to close himself from the mana flow of his Tri-Crystal System. Huron nodded at his team and the angels went to work, opening the doll for repairs and upgrading.

* * *

"What do they think they're doing to my guardian?" Pepper growled after several hours had passed and no sign of the redhead emerged from the laboratory. Raine shrugged as she continued to translate the book. "They were supposed to install my new crystal and then send him out to cook me a dinner!" she added indignantly, "They're taking too long!"

"I'm sure they're also repairing his damages. It looks like he ran into several of Mithos' angel guards in Vinheim." Raine muttered, "This book is his journal, a valuable piece of history indeed! We can actually read about his thoughts and emotions as his sanity begins to deteriorate! Unfortunately, this is not his entire journal, just one of many hundreds of books in a series, so it's not a complete history."

"So?" Pepper grumbled.

"This book happens to be the last one Mithos ever wrote in. So if I flip to the last page... ah-hah!" Raine remarked triumphantly, "He wrote about putting Colette into the mana transfer unit and getting ready to go and witness the rebirth of his sister. This was the last thing recorded by his hand, since it was there that we defeated him, and he never got his body back until we got to the throne room and he died there without laying pen to paper again." The white mana beast looked unimpressed.

"Again, so?"

"Well, he also made a note here. '_Speak her name and she will live forever._' That must be the password to the file on Subject A-481. He underlined it twice." Raine pointed out and closed the book. "So let's try it." She stood and headed for the computer, bringing up the file and waiting for the password entry dialog box to pop open. "Okay, now I enter the words Mithos wrote and..." The computer buzzed angrily and the box closed. Raine frowned and bent forward to study the screen. "Well, that was a disappointment! But it has to be correct, Mithos placed an emphasis on those words for a reason!"

"Maybe it's a clue to the password." Pepper remarked, resting a cheek on one paw as she stretched out on the ground. "If I was worried about a bunch of traitors running off to stop me from getting my Chosen vessel, then I wouldn't write the password straight out. I'd write a clue for myself to remind me what the password is." Raine straightened and lifted a finger into the air.

"Ha hah! Excellent point, Pepper! We must solve this riddle to uncover the secret of this file!" she declared and yawned, "In the morning. I'm so _exhausted_ from this influx of information. And there are still all those books Caleb found... I'm going to be up to my eyes in historical text!"

"I hope Caleb comes out tomorrow." Pepper sighed, curling up as Raine set up a simple bed and got comfortable.


	5. Chapter 5

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Caleb's story is companion to Adam: Cast from Paradise, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time.

* * *

Ch 5

Caleb awoke slowly and felt confused for a few brief moments. No one had given him the emergency awakening code, so something else must have roused him from a state of suspended animation. Why was he in it to begin with? He remembered escaping Vinheim with the password and rings, and that mad Tsaneir angel calling him a lord or something, then...

He sat up with a gasp and groaned softly, doubling over as a surge of mana flowed through him in response to the sudden motion, hands immediately going up to press against the center of his chest. Huron stood by him, watching the doll emotionlessly.

"I would advise against moving so suddenly for a short time. Your body is adjusting to the enhanced Tri-Crystal System." the angel told him. Caleb nodded slowly and straightened, blinking in surprise at his new clothes. For a moment, he thought his familiar old suit had been repaired, but there was a strange lightness to the fabric and a shimmer that ran along it under the light of the laboratory. "I believe your clothes will be to your liking. We managed to change the coloration of a type of mythril mesh to match your old clothing, then wove magitechnological fibers into it that connect to your internal Over-Limit System."

"My what system?" Caleb asked in confusion, pulling one hand away to flex his fingers experimentally, then rubbing at his eyes. His vision seemed erratic for some reason; he set a diagnostic program to run and find out what was wrong with it.

"We built and programmed the Over-Limit System into your body, but during installation, the code somehow mutated and split into three Modes. We know that one of those Over Limit Modes responds to the damage you incur during battles; the other two remain a mystery." Huron explained, "The systems were named during a scan of your processes; Avenger, Savior and Chosen. Chosen Mode is your personal Over Limit Mode. When you've attained damage of seventy percent or more severity level, the Chosen Mode activates, increasing your speed and defensive abilities for a period of five minutes, but greatly reducing your magical and physical power to reroute the mana for that boost."

"Okay, so what do the other Modes do?" Caleb questioned in suspicion, "And who named them?" The diagnostic came back and reported that his visual system needed to reboot to finish configuration. He mentally confirmed it and resigned himself to temporary blindness while he tried to figure out why he wound up with three Modes instead of one.

"That is unknown. The systems named themselves when they were created. Avenger and Savior Modes are currently dormant, the Chosen Mode is the only online Over Limit Mode you have right now." Huron told him and fluttered towards the computers, "We tried to access their programming and managed only to get this piece of data. _'An avenging angel to smite those who steal a precious treasure; a holy savior of the seraphim rank to protect the lives of the faithful.'_ Perhaps the 'precious treasure' and the 'lives of the faithful' are the catalysts to activating to other Limit Modes."

"I don't like this. I only wanted one Over Limit, not _three_!" Caleb protested, "Can you take them out of me?" The angel replied with a blunt 'No.' and the doll's jaw dropped. "Why not?" he practically whined. As immature as it was, Caleb just couldn't help himself. This was something that was installed into his body and brain; he had a **right** to complain about something that could affect him in a negative manner!

"We tried already. When the systems appeared of their own accord, we tried to delete the programming, but they were too finely ingrained into your native systems." Huron answered, "To remove them would be to destroy your artificial intelligence core system." Caleb groaned and flopped back on the table. "I believe I told you your clothes are connected to the Over-Limit System. Depending upon the Mode you take, the fabric will adjust its properties to best suit the limit Mode. It will revert when the Mode ends."

"And it's mythril, so it won't get damaged so easily, huh? Thank you very much, Sir Huron." the doll remarked and sat back up, jumping down from the table and blinking as the visual system finished rebooting, bringing his surroundings back with a much sharper focus. "Ah! I can see more clearly than before!" he exclaimed in understanding. An upgrade, that was it!

"Yes, well, we made a few improvements here and there in your design while you were unconscious." Huron added dismissively, "You may want to rejoin your two companions. They seem to be having trouble with Mithos' password." Caleb thanked him again and left the building. Huron turned back to the screen with a frown. "Avenger, Savior, Chosen; these are names Mithos would have selected for such systems..." he murmured.

* * *

Caleb jogged over to Raine and Pepper as they studied the pages of the tattered old book between them. He peered at it with them before making them jump with a sudden greeting.

"Don't do that!" Raine scolded and smacked Caleb's head, then yelped as her hand throbbed from hitting metal. Pepper grinned shamelessly at her and clacked at her friend's return.

"Sorry for making you guys wait so long. I've been getting a ton of upgrades and enhancements. So what's the trouble?" the doll remarked sheepishly, rubbing his head. Pepper nudged at the book with her snout.

"This thing. Mithos wrote a clue to his password, but we can't figure it out. '_Speak her name and she will live forever._' Any ideas?" the mana beast returned. Raine shook her injured hand and pouted.

"The woman in the clue must be Martel. Mithos was obsessed with Martel. But I've entered every combination of Martel and different words for 'forever' into that computer and it keeps spitting back a denial!" she grumbled as Caleb picked up the book and studied it himself, a strange look on his face.

"He... wasn't talking about... Martel..." he murmured. Raine looked up at him in confusion. Pepper stood on all four paws, tilting her head in concern.

"Caleb? Are you all right?" she asked.

"If Mithos wasn't referring to Martel in that passage, then who is it?" Raine asked, standing up as well. Caleb read the words to himself silently, then closed the book and gazed skyward in thought.

"_Speak her name and she will live forever._ This isn't Martel. Martel would live forever in the body of a Chosen, had things gone according to plan." he reasoned softly, "This is about a woman who had no body, no consciousness, nothing but her name to continue her existence." He turned and walked to the computers, followed by Pepper and Raine as they looked at each other in growing concern.

"Caleb, how would you know that? Mithos was obsessed with Martel. There was no one else in his life that had as much influence as she did." Raine pointed out.

"You've been acting strangely ever since you got the idea to come here. As soon as you got the plan to come to Derris-Kharlan, you've been gung-ho on finishing the archival of the Summon Spirit Seals to get here." Pepper growled, "Something must be affecting you, and it's something here! What did those angels do to you?" Caleb held up a hand for silence.

"It's not from the angels or this place. These are just... reminders. Whatever is affecting me is inside me. I think my soul is connected to this place somehow." he replied softly and placed his fingers on the keys, closing his eyes. "_Speak her name and she will live forever._ The password is..." He began typing, never opening his eyes until he hit the entry key, "_Eternal Kartha._" Pepper blinked and tilted her head in further confusion.

"I don't understand this. How would Mithos know of Kartha?" she asked. Caleb watched the file accept the password and shrugged.

"Well, Kartha's a half-elf, right? So maybe the story of her involvement in the sealing of the Famine Lord was passed down among half-elves the way the legend of Eru's involvement was passed down among the Wonder Cooks." he suggested thoughtfully, "Kartha's story for the half-elves may have been exaggerated to make her seem like a grander, more awe-inspiring person than she may have actually been. Eternal Kartha sounds like the kind of title half-elves would bestow on her, and Mithos might have used it as a password because it would confuse everyone." He grinned back at Pepper and Raine, but the smile seemed too bright, "Think about it. You guys thought it was Martel because Raine knows from personal experience that she's the only one he publicly made a big fuss over. Same with Kratos and Yuan. They wouldn't think to look for a legendary woman when the current obsession is about his sister, whom he made into a legend as well."

"And what brought this leap to the conclusion that Mithos was thinking of Kartha and not Martel?" Raine asked suspiciously, arms folding over her chest as she pinned a steady gaze on the doll. Caleb looked worried, gazing down at the floor.

"I don't know. It felt right, I guess." he mumbled evasively and snapped out of his thoughts when the file beeped, "Oh, it's open!" They crowded the screen, reading the file quickly.

"Wait a minute. This can't be right." Raine finally murmured after a silence fell over the group. Caleb's eyes went wide and he stepped back in horror. "Who's Adam Voraci?"

"Oh Goddess! Wren!" the doll blurted, feeling sick as Pepper whimpered and shuffled back from the computer. "_Wren's_ the Final Chosen!"

"The Wonder Chef?" Raine questioned, reading on and shaking her head, "This doesn't make sense. Why would Mithos want the Wonder Chef to be his Chosen?" Her face tightened as she shot another look at the file. "That sneak! He lied to us! He's been here before after all!" she declared in irritation.

"That's why he didn't want to come to Derris-Kharlan with me!" Caleb realized, threading his hands through his hair as things began making sense, "He knew that if he came, the Angels of Vinheim would capture him and turn him into a vessel. But if he escaped from Derris-Kharlan to Symphonia, then it proves the Wonder Fork has the ability to teleport the distance from the comet to our world!" He let his hands drop as a sort of numbness and the unsettling feeling of betrayal seeped into him, hurt and confusion on his face. "Wren... _lied_ to me...?"

"The Wonder Chef is Subject A-481?" Pepper whimpered and sat down, "But, how?" Caleb shook his head, moving backwards away from the group in staggering steps with the same lost expression on his face. Nothing else was registering in his mind, everything was focusing on the revelation before him which only made the hurt sharper and more intense.

"It's not true... It's _not_ true! Huron said the third Chosen escaped with the Cruxis Crystal attached, but I've examined Wren's body a number of times during his illnesses and injuries." he protested weakly, shaking his head and completely unaware of the tears now running down his cheeks, "He doesn't _have_ a Cruxis Crystal on him. I would have seen it if he did." Raine studied the file carefully, frowning.

"It could have been removed after he escaped. Did you see any slight scarring anywhere on him?" she asked as she read on. Caleb sank to the floor as his legs decided to fail to support him, shoulders sagging even as he scanned through his memory.

"He has several old scars in random places, as well as a couple of thin markings below his neck." he recalled in a dead tone, causing Raine to turn around at look at him worriedly. Pepper whined, padding forward with her ears back as she nuzzled at his hand. He pet her snout absently before lifting his eyes to the half-elf, his gaze distant. "I thought those were just scratches from the chain he wears around his neck... I didn't think anything of it." he murmured and then squeezed his eyes shut, finally letting out a sob as he covered his face in his hands, "How could I have been so_** blind**_? Oh Goddess, what did Mithos **do** to him? _Wren!_"

"Calm down. I'm finding out." Raine told him and looked towards the mana beast in concern, "Pepper, can you help him? I would as well, but I need to learn what I can about this." Pepper nodded and scooted closer to her guardian, nuzzling his arm. Raine gave the weeping doll a pitying look, then turned back to study the open file on the screen. "Let's see. _'Subject A-481. Human name: Adam Voraci. Mana signature test results: ninety-three percent match to Lord Yggdrasill. Magical potential is high. Blood test results: half-elf. Genetic test results: human. This subject has proven to be as equal a threat as Lloyd Irving, but a potentially greater asset to my ideals. Lloyd is becoming more dangerous with each passing day. In light of this, I will create a third Chosen from this being and keep him hidden. Should the impossibility of my defeat at the hands of the inferior beings occur, my consciousness shall be transferred to this Final Chosen. The combined strengths of my angelic power and his innate magical skill should prove more than a match for Lloyd and his companions.'_"

"He was going to keep Wren prisoner up here." Caleb whispered tearfully, pulling his hands down to look up at Raine in horror, "Why? Why did Mithos choose Wren for this?"

"Let me finish... Ah, it says here that Mithos discovered the Wonder Chef was betraying him at the same time he found Kratos had betrayed him." she went on, fingers running over the words as she digested the information as quickly as she could, "He used the Eternal Sword to kidnap the Wonder Chef shortly after an assassination attempt failed in Meltokio. When he had the chef tested for use in the Angelus Project, he discovered the similarities and his native magical power and chose instead to use him in his contingency plan." Raine summarized and stood back, frowning as she folded her arms over her chest again. "That explains why we never saw him after leaving Meltokio for the Tower of Salvation. The assassination attempt was probably that Dark Chef cornering him near the castle. It failed because Regal interfered."

"That's why he couldn't teach you the other three recipes." Caleb agreed, his shoulders slumping again as he bowed his head, "He was trapped on Derris-Kharlan. His father must have sent Wonder Cooks in his place to finish what his son started."

"We got those recipes after the Tower of Salvation in Tethe'alla fell and we rescued Zelos." Raine muttered, turning away from the machine and joining the doll and mana beast, "More than enough time for him to have returned. Remember, Huron said the Third Chosen escaped when Mithos was defeated during the first attack on the Tower, when we rescued Colette after Zelos pretended to betray us. I think he was recovering from the experience of being the Chosen of Mithos, or from the removal of the Cruxis Crystal. When we saw him again, he stayed only in Altamira's cafeteria to give us new titles." She frowned as she thought back to that day, kneeling down by Caleb. "His cheerfulness seemed forced and he looked paler than usual. He may have taken ill from the removal of the Cruxis Crystal. Someone had to have contacted a dwarf to do it; anyone else may have ruined it and the Wonder Chef would have wound up turning into a monster, like Clara and Rodyle."

She paused then, reaching out to place a hand on the doll's shoulder gently. Her expression softened at seeing him looking so pained by what he'd learned. "It's all right to feel hurt about this, Caleb. There's nothing wrong with that." she told him carefully, "But don't feel as though he did this purposely to hurt you. I'm not saying I know why he lied or hid this from you, but he seems to be a good person, and you are a good friend to have. It's likely that he had the best of intentions when he chose to hide this part of his past, more so when you decided to come here. If anything happened, he wouldn't want you to feel responsible, I believe."

Caleb looked up at her mutely, as though unaffected by her words, then reached into his pack and pulled free the slip of paper Wren had given him before he left for Derris-Kharlan. He could still remember the blonde telling him to use it if he ever got into serious trouble. Now he could understand all the belligerence that came from him whenever Caleb pried into his past. He'd been touching on wounds that hadn't healed, without ever knowing. Wren's constant refusals to follow him to Derris-Kharlan, his lying about the Wonder Fork's ability to teleport to the comet, his near-violent fits of anger when questioned about his lack of appearances during parts of the Reunification Journey or told that Mithos controlled the Wonder Chefs as tightly as the Chosen; it all made sense now.

"That's why he thinks of himself as valueless unless he was Wonder Chef, and why he puts that title equal to Chosen. It's because he _is_ a Chosen, and he experienced firsthand the similarities between the two titles." he finally murmured, gazing down at the folded paper in his hand. Raine gave him a puzzled look, then stood and gestured towards the machine.

"The Cruxis Crystal and its mount are pictured in the file, Caleb. Do you want to see it?" she asked softly. The doll swallowed hard, but nodded and stood as well. They walked back to the computer together and gazed at the screen. "For what it can do and what it represents, it certainly is rather beautiful." Raine commented thoughtfully, "Leave it to Mithos to have his new Cruxis Crystal's mount crafted by a master artisan." The Cruxis Crystal on the screen was the same color and shape as Mithos' own, the mount styled to resemble golden wings spread from the shining red stone. The runes carved to help the stone transform its host into a vessel were carefully cut into the mount as the lines that made the feathers, that defined the central stone, that shaped the mount to look like a winged figure, an angel.

"I wanted to protect Wren from the evils of the world." Caleb mumbled sadly and shook his head slightly, "But I was too late to protect him from the greatest evil this world had to offer." He held up the note again, offering it to his companion. "Raine, remember when he gave this to me? It's written in elven language. I can't read it, so can you?" The half-elf took the paper and opened it, studying the letters on the sheet. "He said to use it if I ever got in trouble."

"It's a letter." Raine said after a moment, "A letter of submission. '_To whomever holds my friend's life in his hand, I know what it is you angels seek. Grant immunity to my friends and I will surrender to your will. I am the Chosen of Mithos, the key to his contingency plan. I beg of you, bring no harm to them and I will offer myself to Mithos for his resurrection._' It's signed, Adam Voraci." She shook her head, a disappointed frown on her face. "His intent was good, but this is still cowardly. Is he so desperate to destroy himself that the Wonder Chef would actually seek out Mithos' soul to endanger this world again?"

"That idiot." Caleb whispered angrily, eyes narrowing as he welcomed this distraction from the numbness and the hurt and feeling of betrayal, "I told him I would protect him, and he gives me this order for his own destruction? Wren! How _could_ you? When have I ever let you down? When have I failed to fulfill my promises to you? Can't you even keep the promise to live your life for me?" He tightened one hand into a fist, glaring at the note. "If I **had** used it, I would be responsible for sending him to his death; how could he think I'd be able to live with myself with that knowledge?"

"What do we do now?" Pepper murmured, joining them at the console, "We can't give this to the Angels of Vinheim! They'll take away the Wonder Chef! I won't get delicious meals anymore!" She thought a bit more, as if realizing that there were other people to think of as well. "Oh, yeah, and the world will starve to death, too. But isn't _my_ stomach more important right now?" she whined.

"We'll have to destroy this data. The Angels of Vinheim can't learn about Wren." Caleb hissed, reaching out to slam his hand down on the special pad designed for automated dolls, "I had a feeling that I needed to come here as soon as possible, and this must be why. I have to stop this plan from stealing Wren's life away. I'm not letting Cruxis destroy another innocent person!" He glared at the display as he began opening the commands to copy and erase the data, but paused when he took another look at the mount. "Wait a second. Those runes... they look wrong." he murmured, moving his hand up to trace over the delicate writing. Raine gave him a confused expression and he nodded slightly. "Dwarven technology... these runes... they're not like the ones on the mount Colette wears..." he amended and peered at them more closely, "If I could translate this... maybe the file has the inscription saved..."

Angels flew by before he could explore his thoughts further, swarming with spears and bows in hand as they chattered in what seemed like a panic. Caleb turned to watch them in concern, then looked over at Huron flying towards them from the laboratory. Raine closed the file quickly and turned to cover the screen as Pepper flicked her ears in annoyance and growled.

"Caleb, I'm sensing something coming this way, an angry being with a desire to take you from us. Her mind is clouded with rage for your body, but awe for the soul you possess." the mana beast muttered and stepped towards the west side of Welgaia. Caleb swallowed as Raine lifted her rod in preparation for battle. Huron landed beside them, a spear in one hand.

"Tsaneir was not patient. There are reports that she is passing through the catacombs with an army of machines to capture you, Caleb." the angel reported and looked at the doll. The redhead swallowed again, looking nervous and evasive as he bowed his head to hide himself. "Is there a reason why Tsaneir is so desperate to gain both the file on the Third Chosen and you?"

"I'm not sure. She called me a lord, then said my body was unfit for my soul." the doll mumbled with a half-hearted shrug, "Maybe she's just crazy, like Mithos was."

"She's coming closer. Caleb, she wants to take you away. Take you away and keep you in Vinheim until she finds the Final Chosen." Pepper growled, fur rising as her wings half-opened. Caleb blinked in confusion and hurried ahead to walk by her, soon joined by Raine and Huron as they made their way to the catacombs' entrance to get a stronger focus.

"Pepper, can you read more from her? What is she planning to do with me? How will she escape Derris-Kharlan to try finding Wren?" the doll requested. Pepper seemed to glow faintly, no longer needing to go into her trance to read minds after spending time enhancing her skills.

"This being... wishes to combine your soul with the Chosen's body. She thinks... no, she _believes_ that Mithos' soul is inside you." she murmured, concentrating on the impending army, "She wants to attack here and get the data at last. She fears harming you now, and is angry that she nearly destroyed you in the catacombs earlier. Tsaneir will do everything she can to disable you for capture, without harming you so badly the soul abandons you and is lost to her forever. She knows of a way to Symphonia. A way that Lloyd overlooked; it gets past the magic wall, and it's here. Somewhere." Pepper shook her head and the aura faded. "That's all I can get for now. She's really, _really_ ticked off." she finished, eyebrow raised, "Kind of makes me wonder what the heck you did to her in Vinheim."

"Is it possible, Caleb?" Raine asked, a strange tone in her voice as she looked at him as though he were some new and foreign thing, "Is it possible that you have Mithos' soul in your body?" The doll shook his head, eyes wide and growing fearful.

"No! I _can't_ have his consciousness! It disappeared when it merged with the Great Seed, didn't it?" he exclaimed in protest and cried out, hands flying up to cover his head protectively when the alley with the catacomb gateway exploded, dozens of machines and warrior angels flooding through to collide with the waiting mass of scholarly angels. The redhead uncovered his head and gaped at the battle that broke out. Huron looked up and held his spear ready, taking on an aggressive stance.

"Tsaneir!" he declared and the group of friends looked up with him in shock. The angelic lord hovered over them, twin sets of black wings flapping as she leveled her sword at them. Raine held her rod defensively, waiting to see what was going to happen.

"Ah, Huron, so this is what you've been up to all this time. You've been hiding Lord Yggdrasill from his faithful followers!" the silver-haired angel accused angrily, "You've been filling his mind with lies so that he cannot see the truth! I'll be taking the Lord Yggdrasill back now; back to Vinheim and the world he envisioned for us, the superior beings!"

"I'm **not** Mithos, dammit!" Caleb snapped, shaking his fists furiously, "Back off!"

"You heard him! Beat it!" Pepper declared and took a deep breath, blowing it out in the form of a huge beam of light, the _Breath of Light_ attack. Tsaneir flew aside from it and dove after the group, a war cry erupting from her mouth. Pepper halted her attack and scattered with the group, using her psychic power to block the debris from the angel's collision with the ground. "Caleb! Stay with us! We'll keep you safe!"

"I'll help! _Field Barrier!_" Raine declared, casting the spell that coated the group with defensive magic that reduced the damage from physical weapons. Huron glanced at the blue aura surrounding him before flying after Tsaneir, swinging the spear to block the incoming sword strikes.

"Professor Sage! Mana beast! Take Caleb out of here! Destroy the data file and escape while you can!" he called back as the war raged around them. Caleb shook his head furiously.

"No! Sir Huron, it's my fault these guys are here! I'm going to stay and help you fight!" he yelled as he called up the mana circle, _"Bloody Lance!"_ Raine grabbed his arm while the magical swords slammed the ground, Tsaneir evading the blades agilely as she pressed her attack against Huron.

"Let's go, Caleb! He's putting himself between us and that mad angel! We can't let her get to you!" she told him and pulled him towards the center of the holy city. "We have to destroy that file and escape! These angels are fighting to protect Symphonia even though they say they're only protecting themselves! Don't let them die for nothing!" Pepper fired her _Mana Light_ spell into the crowd of Perfect Murders, slamming several with the barrage of light bursts that sent them careening into walls and each other. She turned and knelt by the two scholars.

"Raine's right! You're our way out of here with that Pin! If Tsaneir gets her hands on you and the Eternal Sword Pin, she can do a lot of damage to our world! Especially if she finds the Third Chosen!" she added quickly, "Climb on! I'll fly us back to the computers!" Huron shoved Tsaneir aside and flew back defensively, panting as his robes hung in near ruins on his body, stained dark from multiple wounds.

"Escape! Now! If you truly hold Mithos' soul in your body, Tsaneir will not stop searching this world and Symphonia until she has you in her grasp! For the sake of keeping the contingency plan from activating, you must leave this place and never return!" the angel yelled down at them, "Now go!" Caleb and Raine climbed onto the mana beast's back and Pepper took to the sky, narrowly avoiding the barrage of missiles that were fired after her. Tsaneir hissed and shot after them, halting as Huron flew to block her path, swinging the spear again.

"You will _not_ live to regret your interference, Huron." the angelic lord snarled, tightening her grip on the sword, "I _will _have that doll!" Huron glared back at her, holding the spear ready.

"I only regret underestimating your cruel tenacity." he growled in return and the two angels charged each other.


End file.
